Take our brief survey on patient agesUCAOAUCAOA is conducting a brief survey to obtain feedback on which patient age ranges your urgent care facility treats. Please participate in our brief survey. Results will be published in next week's edition of UCAccess.

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PRACTICE MANAGEMENT

Time: Your patients' most valuable resourceUCAOAIn modern society, the one resource that is more valuable than money is time. That's because time is finite – each of us receives the same 24 hours per day and the best we can do is "make the most of it." As Americans face an increasing number of personal time commitments, they are putting a greater premium on products and services that free time for leisure. In this month's Expert Blog, UCAOA Board Member and Content Advisor Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc, demonstrates that saving time is the key value proposition of urgent care, while also providing examples of successful centers that have focused their systems, processes and technology on saving consumers' time.

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SPONSORED CONTENT

HEALTH POLICY

Open Payments (The Sunshine Act) review your data by August 27Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesAs part of the Open Payments program, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will soon make data about the financial relationships between drug/device manufacturers and physicians and teaching hospitals available to the public. Open Payments registration for physicians and teaching hospitals in the CMS Enterprise Portal and the Open Payments system is currently open. Although registration is a voluntary process, it is required if physicians or teaching hospitals want to review any of the data reported about them, by the industry, prior to public posting of the data on September 30, 2014. Click here for further information and registration details. Be sure to also visit the UCAOA Health Policy web page for further updates.

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MEETINGS & EDUCATION

Free webinar: Disparities Dialogue: An overview of Coverage to CareThe CMS Office of Minority Health (OMH)Please join Cara James, PhD, Director of the CMS Office of Minority Health, on Wednesday, July 30, 2014, from 12-1pm (EDT) for an informative webinar on Coverage to Care (C2C). This session is designed to help answer questions that people may have about their new health coverage, to help them make the most of their new benefits, including taking full advantage of primary care and preventive services. It also seeks to give healthcare providers the tools they need to promote patient engagement. Register here.

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE

2014 Fall Conference: early tuition ends todayUCAOAThe 2014 Fall Conference (Oct. 9-11) in Denver delves into the most pressing issues you face as an urgent care professional, delivering impactful and practical content, solutions and tools that you can apply immediately back home in your center. This year's 2 ½-day event has been revamped and expanded to offer NEW comprehensive practice management and clinical content. As a participant, you can customize your schedule by selecting to attend from 44 sessions in 4 tracks. Don't pass up the opportunity to add on the Pre-Conference Course: DOT FMCSA Medical Examiner Training offered on Thursday, Oct. 9, from 8am - 5pm or register to attend the special 2-day Hands-On Clinical Boot Camp held Friday, Oct. 10 and Saturday, Oct. 11. UCAOA is offering an early tuition rate, which saves you $100, but you must act today, July 24th by midnight (Central).

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE

NOW ONLINE IN JUCM

Global healthcare volunteering: What you need to know before you goUCAOAFew urgent care providers have exposure to global medicine but opportunities abound for doing volunteer work in health care throughout the world. JUCM's newest web-exclusive article provides a step-by-step plan for realizing your dream of practicing or teaching medicine far from home. It's written by Kenneth V. Iserson, MD, MBA, FACEP, FAAEM, author of a handbook for medical professionals on global volunteerism, who has personally worked or taught on all seven continents. To read “Global Healthcare Volunteering: What You Need to Know Before You Go”—available only online—click here.

The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine (JUCM) supports the evolution of urgent care medicine by creating content that addresses the clinical practice of urgent care medicine and the practice management challenges of keeping pace with an ever-changing healthcare marketplace. Are you an urgent care provider who would like to write for our journal? Send an e-mail to editor@jucm.com for information on our author guidelines.

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IDEA OF THE WEEK

High school sports physicalsUCAOAWith the back-to-school season ramping up, kids participating in school sports programs are typically required to submit a parent consent and have a physical exam. Not only can sports physicals generate revenue themselves, but they bring prospective future patients into the center to see the facility, meet the doctor, and become familiar with the center's policies and processes. So in the event that a sports injury, cold/flu, allergies, or other urgent care need occurs – the family knows right where to go. Temporary signage like the one pictured can remind hurried parents they can meet the physical requirement at your urgent care center. Requirements and forms are available from your state high school athletic association or your school district's athletic director.

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FEATURED COMPANIES

MEMBERS IN THE NEWS

ER, urgent care vary on price, servicesStar-TelegramMansfield, Texas, has experienced growth in the number of urgent care clinics and free-standing emergency rooms. Interviewed for the article, UCAOA Board Member and Content Advisor Alan Ayers explains that Texas is a hotbed for free-standing ERs, because the state offers a vast supply of affluent communities and doesn't require certificate of need. Some insurance companies are encouraging their customers to choose lower-cost options. However, educating consumers on the differences between these neighborhood medical facilities, the level of treatment each is intended to provide and the costs can be challenging.

Charleston, S.C. mayor challenges BlueCross BlueShield on urgent care decisionThe Post and CourierPublic opinion is mounting against BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina's decision to drop two large urgent care providers from its network later this year. Charleston Mayor Joe Riley remarked in a letter to the insurer that their decision seems "financially self-serving" and "highly detrimental to your independent customers." BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina confirmed last month that it will remove both Nason Medical Center and Medcare Urgent Care from its network in October to control rising costs. Dr. Radwan Hallaba, who owns Medcare Urgent Care, met with executives from the BlueCross BlueShield last week to better understand the decision but was told that the insurance company doesn't share data with providers.

Urgent care centers are in demandThe Columbus DispatchUrgent care is becoming the patient care destination of choice for non-emergent issues due to its convenience and reasonably priced treatment. This demand has fueled the urgent care industry's growth throughout the past decade, but many in the industry are speculating a wave of consolidation across the highly fragmented market. UCAOA Board Member Alan Ayers remarks in the article that most urgent care centers operate somewhat independently, and in the future, they will need to be part of a larger, more integrated system of care. Ayers also mentions that he expects more hospitals to enter the market as private-equity firms cash out and many urgent care companies go public.